Motor Performance and Body Mass Index Status of Students of Different School Types

A meta-data analysis based on 3,662 population-representative studies, reports a doubling of obesity figures worldwide since 1990. The figures for school-age children and adolescents have even quadrupled worldwide during this period (Phelps et al., 2024). This so-called adipositas-shift is also noticeable in Switzerland. In the last 30 years, the proportion of obese people aged 15 and over in Switzerland has doubled (BfS, 2023). In addition, the numerously reported inverse relationship between weight status and sports motor performance in schoolchildren (e.g. Slotte et al., 2017; Wälti et al., 2022), shows that being overweight is not conducive to healthy behaviour. The question at stake is whether and how motor performance in childhood is related to body mass index (BMI) and how these variables are related to independent variables such as nationality, school type and sport-related leisure time behaviour. These questions were investigated for the third time as part of a regionally representative study (Serino & Anliker, 2024). In the years 2023-2024, BMI, motor performance, and socio-demographic information of a total of 2,469 Swiss children and adolescents at compulsory schools, upper secondary level gymnasiums, and vocational schools were retrieved. Data collection included a motor performance test (MLT), weight and height measurement (BMI) and a questionnaire. As the results reveal, adolescents from the gymnasium are significantly less likely to be overweight, than children and adolescents from other schools. Overall, there is a significant correlation between nationality and BMI. In this survey period, a noticeable shift from a lower number of overweight to an increasing number of obese children and adolescents, i.e. adipositas-shift, is recognisable. In most MLT test tasks, there is a negative correlation between BMI classification and motor performance values. Partially significant correlations between the frequency of sporting club activities and various motor performance tasks are found in some subsamples. A finding that suggests an in-depth discussion on the well-known social-ecological influence in that matter (c.f. Kakebeeke et al., 2020; Lamprecht et al., 2021) and also on the influence of the educational level, as the results of the study show.